Improvement in folding or camp chairs



' A. A. YOUNG. Folding or Camp-Chair. No. 211,827.

vPa'fenred lan. 28, 1879.

per

N, PETERS, FHOTO-LITMOGLLPHER, YVASHINGTDN D C ALBERT A. YOUNG, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING 0R CAMP CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters Pat-eut No. 2l 1,827, datcd January 2S, 1879; application filed .nu y 27, 187s.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. YOUNG, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 4in Spring Hammock Chairs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of tli'e invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a view, in perspective, of a chair to which my improvements have been applied, and which I term a spring Vhammock chair, the foot-rest being shown in position for use. Fig. 2 represents a similar view of the same chair, the foot-rest heilig folded in, as when not being used, the chair in this position forming a simple camp-chair. Fig. 3 represents a similar view of the same chair as when folded up and put away, or for the purposes of transportation, 85o. Fig. 4 represents a front elevation of an ordinary chair to which my improvement has been applied.

My invention relates to a new and improved mode of constructing spring-seated chairs, a-nd is more particularly intended to be applied to that class of chairs termed folding7 or camp chairs, but is adapted, with suitable moditications, to other kinds of chairs and seats.

In folding or camp chairs the cloth that .forms the back and seat proper has heretofore been rigidly secured to the top rail of the back. This is objectionable, for the reason that the only claim to elasticity it has lies in the stretch or give of the cloth, which in itself is inconsiderable, and does not accomplish the desired resultto wit, a seat that is at once elastic, `yielding, and easy, and which can be manufactured at slight cost.

My invention consists in combining, with the seat of a cha-ir, flexible or hinged at its front edge, and with the top or other rail employed for the purpose ot' its back, a spring or series of springs, in the manner and for the purposes hereinafter to be more fully set forth.

In the drawings, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, my improvement is represented as being applied to a reclining, camp, or folding chair, and which I term a spring hammock chair-in other words, a chair provided with an adjustable back, A, seat B, and foot-rest C. The chair thus constructed consists ot' two pairs ot' standards, D D and E E, pivoted together in the manner of an ordinary camp-chair, one pair, D D, being prolonged to form the frame for the back of the chair, and connected at the top by the crossrail F. The upper end of rails E E are also connected by crossrail G.' These two pairs of rails, I) D and E E, are also connected, in the ordinary manner of camp-chairs, by the adj ust-able stay-straps H H. ln an ordinary camp-chair to which my improvement is applied no foot-rest C would be used, in which case a piece of clot-h, B A, which forms the seat and back, would at its lower end terminate at and be secured to the front or cross rail, G, of the standards E, while at its upper edge it would be secured in any suitable way to the free end or ends of a spring or series ot' springs, I, the other end or ends of which are attached to the top rail, F, of the back of the chair, or, if desired, to a supplementary rail employed for the purpose.

Ordinarily I prefer to use for this purpose a series of spiral springs; but springs of other and suitable construction of known form may be used. In this case, where I use a spiral spring, I prefer to mount upon and secure the upper end of the cloth back A to a bar or rod of wood, o, into which eyebolts a, or equivalent devices, are secured, an'd then attaching these to the springs by hooking the lower bent ends of the latter into the eyes of these bolts.

Thus constructed, an elastic seat and back is provided for the occupant of the chair.

To transform a camp-chair 'into a reclining or spring hammock chair, all that is necessary to do is to take the chair last described, and to hinge a foot-rest frame, ill, to the front rail, G, ot' the camp-chair, and then prolong the cloth Ywhich forms the seat B sufficiently far to extend over and cover that frame, and thus form the foot-rest C, for which' purpose the outer end ot' the cloth is then secured to the outer crossrail, b,of said frame M. The foot-rest is then completed by hinging or pivoting to the front end of the frame M, ou the inside of the latter, a pair of supporting standards or legs, N, and which legs are so constructed as to be capable of being folded within said frame M, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The chair thus constructed is capable of being used either as a simple camp-chair, as shown in Fig. 2, where the foot-rest C is illustrated as folded up and stowed away under the seat proper, B, or as a reclining or easy chair, in which the foot-rest is used, and the back adjusted to any angle required by means of the buckle stay-straps H, as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 4 my improvement is shown as being applied to the frame of an ordinary chair, bench or seat. In this case the lower end of the cloth which forms the back and seat is secured directly to the front rail of the frame of the chair or bench, while the upper end is secured, in a similar manner to that shown in Fig. 1, to the lower end of a spring or series of springs, I, the upper end or ends ot which are then secured to the upper rail ot the chair or seat back, and thus form a chair with an elastic or yielding seat or back. 0r, this latter style of chair may be modified by using, instead of the cloth seat and back, one of those perforated curved wooden seats and backs, such as are now in common use; but in such case the front end ofthe seat must be icxibly connected or hinged to the inside of the front rail ofthe chair-seat frame, and the upper end ot' the back then secured in any suitable way to the lower end of the springs I, as in Fig. l, t-he said springs then being secured at their other end to the rail F ofthe chair-baclt frame, as in said figure, or that ot' Fig. 4.

Thus constructed, an easy and elastic or yielding wooden seat and back is provided at small cost, and would be well adapted to the construction of chairs, benches, ear-seats, &c.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. In combination with a continuous back and seat, A B, of a chair, bench, or seat, hinged or ilexibly connected at its front edge to the front cross-bar, G, an upper crossrail, F, and spring or springs I, arranged to operate in the manner substantially as shown and described.

2. Achair, seat, or bench constructed with a continuous back and seat, A B, hinged or flexibly connected at its front end to the front crossbar, G, and with an upper cross-rail, F, and a spring or springs, I, arranged to operate snbstantially as shown and described.

3. A folding camp or reclining chair provided with a continuous back and seat, A B, flexibly connected at its front end to the front cross-bar, G, and with an upper cross-rail, F, and a spring or springs, I, arranged to operate in the manner substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT A.' YOUNG.

Vitnesses:

JAS. M. HUsE, JOHN W. STEE LE. 

